Lindsay McCluskey: The Continuing Resolution Devastates College Opportunities for Young People The cuts worsen the closer one examines them. HR 1 slashes the Pell Grant, which over nine million low-income students use to attend college, by 15 percent. This cut means a reduction in the maximum award amount, which is administered to the students most in need of financial assistance, by $845, bringing their financial aid down from $5,550 to $4,705. (The Huffington Post)

About the blogger

Alex Friedrich reports on higher education issues for MPR News. Among the stories he has covered: the fall of the Berlin Wall, aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, 2003 Moscow suicide bombing and 2004 presidential elections in the Republic of Georgia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Georgia and a master’s in European political economy from the London School of Economics.